The Christian Impact: Salt and Light for the World

Jesus has high hopes for his Church in the world.  We are to be salt and light, giving flavor, endurance, guidance and inspiration to the rest of the world.  This takes a daily fight against our easy-going lukewarmness and a magnanimity of heart that moves us to serve and give good example to others.  

Transcript

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My Lord and my God, I firmly believe that you are here, that you see me and that you hear me. I adore you with profound reverence. I ask your pardon for my sins, for the grace. To make this time of prayer fruitful, my Immaculate Mother, Saint Joseph, my father and Lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me. This is the worst kind of snowfall. It's perfectly timed just to annoy people and not have any benefits of getting school off. It's Saturday morning. Super Bowl weekend. We could pray as we usually do about tomorrow's gospel, tomorrow's readings. There's no liturgy yet for Super Bowl Sunday. So I think it's the fifth week in ordinary time, if I'm not mistaken. Or fourth? Fifth. Thank you. Jesus said to his disciples, You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled under foot. You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden, nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket. It is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house, just so your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father. These are two images, Lord Jesus, in your presence, that show to us how much our Lord thinks of us, how much our Lord is counting on Christians, on his church. Salt, of course, is essential to cooking. Most things need salt, at least a little bit. In the ancient world, of course, it was also essential to the preservation, the preservation of food. So preservative. And so this is what we are for the world. We give the world a certain Christian flavor. We humanize the world when we're living the charity we should, the faith in God that we should, we divinize the world. And we preserve it. Powerful thing to think about that somehow we keep the world in existence, right? In God's favor. Because we're your beloved, Lord, and we're loving the others who are not in the church yet for you, keeping your good will towards the world, intervening with a Christian spirit, is a priestly spirit, a spirit of intercession, intervention. You're the salt of the earth. How much our Lord thinks of us. Could remind us of that other image from the letter of the letter to Dionides in the second century, where he says that Christians are the soul of the world. Just like salt is necessary to preserve meat if you don't cook it. Well, the soul is obviously necessary for the life of the body. The body can't live without its soul. And all of these things, Lord, are manifestations of our connection to you. Jesus says, I am the way and the truth and the life. The life keeps something alive, keeps it in existence. Life is the existence of a living thing. And the soul gives life. And the salt preserves the life of the food. So, Lord, help us not to underestimate how important our vocation is, how important our Christian response is. And to you and to the world, to your plant for the world. That we're truly called to be life, to give life, to preserve life. The salt of the earth. But there's a danger, right? If salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. If salt loses its taste, if we lose the tenor, the sharpness of our Christian life, well then we're worthless, right? It's like, what are we doing here? We're just like anyone else. We stop playing that role or that you have for us to give flavor to the world, to season the world with divinity and true humanity, to preserve the world. And obviously, um when we think about ourselves as being salt that loses flavor, we think of something like lukewarmness. Flavorless salt is that numbness that seeks, that sets in, that numbness that sets in when we when we seek ourselves. That lukewarmness which comes from overvaluing and over-prioritizing our own comfort, our own pleasures, our entertainment. And lukewarmness is like temperature. And flavorless salt is like tepidity or of flavor, insipid, flavorless, kind of dead. Flat. Like flat soda. And what are the what are the signs of this, Lord? Well, we're not happy, right? Our we get angry, we get resentful, we get sad, and we blame it on conditions or other people. But really, we're mad at ourselves because we know we're meant for more, right? We're kind of jipping ourselves when we settle for lukewarmness. We know, Lord, that we're meant for more, that we should be helping people more and living for higher ideals and denying ourselves a little bit more. More purpose, more meaning to be more alive. Somewhere our father says that um, maybe it's not him. I have to look at my references every once in a while. He says that uh, or someone does, that mortifications are like smelling salts for the soul. Does that sound familiar? No, all right. I'm probably wrong. It's happened before. Maybe once. Alright, that um, whoever said it, it's a great idea. Smelling salts are like that strong ammonia, sharp scent, right? That if you're feeling a little woozy or getting hit in the head in a football game, to snap you out of it, they they have you inhale some smelling salts. And that could be that's like mortification. It's like, well, yeah, if I'm actively looking for a fight to pick with myself, a fight to pick with my laziness or my sensuality or my curiosity or my complaining or whatever, well, it it it enlivens the will and our heart. It just wakes us up. And our Lord, in in the Gospel of Mark, a similar passage, after he says, with what can it be seasoned, right? If salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? He says, So have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another. Which is so powerfully uh insightful and deep. Well then I tend to have more peace with others. Have salt in yourselves and have peace with one another. So we can ask our Lord for that. Lord, yeah, let me see where I can be. Just more active, more a master of my whims. Embrace the struggle to have that sporting spirit. Light. You are the light of the world. Again, our Lord is showing us how much we mean because how closely we're connected to Him. Jesus, you tell us, You are the light of the world, and yet you say by yourself, I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life. In another passage somewhere, right, the scripture says that we can't work in the dark. And we know that it's just obvious, right? It's light is so necessary for life. You can't do much when you don't have light. You can't go anywhere. It's a dangerous situation. You bump into things, you don't know where you're going. What a beautiful aspiration, Lord, that we would be a source of light, of vision to others to help them see what they're doing, what they can do, and where they're going. To give people horizons. And how are we light? Well, at least in this passage, it has to do with being good. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a bushel basket, it is set on a lampstand where it gives light to all in the house. Just so your light must shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father. And how does our light shine? Well, by actually being good, doing good things. Do your good deeds before others. Which means we have to be do-gooders in a certain way, right? And do-gooder is a derisive term. And part of that is understandable because the do-gooder, you know, the person who gets that label, you get the sense that they're kind of like doing good for their own satisfaction or. And this is how Jesus was treated. Lord, you were someone who did good. You were a do-gooder in the sense, the real sense that our Lord did a lot of good. And people criticized and they felt threatened and they blamed him. How much good our Lord did? Actually, the apostles described him. He went about doing good. There's so many passages where we see, Lord, your generosity, just your just your benevolence and your beneficence, getting out of yourself, helping others, many people. That evening they brought to him many who were possessed with demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. Another passage, when they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed. Another passage, great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the maimed, the mute, many others. They put them at his feet and he cured them. Helping people. This is another way of snapping out of that lukewarmness, of regaining our sharpness, not just self-denial, but how can I help? How can I make things better? Who can I reach out to? Who needs my help? And if I find, Lord, that I'm kind of alone too much, or wasting time with time on my hands, well, we have to kind of wonder, well, what am I doing? Who can I help? Who can I reach out to? What good can I do? The time is sure to love, as our father says. The time is sure to love. And St. John of the Cross, in the evening I'll be judged on my love. And love is other things too. It's understanding, it's forgiving, it's affection. But it's also benevolence and beneficence, doing good things for people, serving people. And this is rewarded. God loves a cheerful giver. We read the Old Testament, and the first reading is all about the reward for goodness from the prophet Isaiah. Thus says the Lord, share your bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless, clothe the naked when you see them. Do not turn your back on your own. The importance of charity and working with St. Rafi work, young people. How much importance our father gave to the to the visits to the poor. And to help them open their hearts to be with someone who is lonely or needs something, and to give them a little bit of time and a little something. Interest. Do some good service for them. As a way of Lord of overcoming our pride, our indifference, our laziness. Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed. Your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the Lord shall be your rearguard. So beautiful, right? It's like living charity with others heals us. You do these good things, and your wound shall quickly be healed. It's kind of like physical therapy. I always get nervous when very old people opt for like knee replacement or hip replacement or whatever. Not because I'm against the surgeries, but I'm like, is are they really gonna do any of you know the like physical therapy? Because if you don't do that, then you're still, yeah, you see these people like still limping around, you know. After surgery, it's like, oh man. Anyway, motion is the lotion. And the same thing with charity, it's like, our father would talk this way. Um forget about yourself, right? Concern yourself with the others, and you'll see that you know 95% of your problems disappear. Your wound shall quickly be healed. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer. You shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. Wow. Looking out for others, right? Just being more of service. Then you shall call and the Lord will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. If you remove from your midst oppression, false accusation, and malicious speech, if you bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted, then light shall rise for you in the darkness, and the gloom shall become for you like midday. God loves a cheerful giver. Sir Father says God is not outdone in generosity. No say dehaganar. He doesn't let himself be beat in generosity. This response to Rosalam continues with this, these kind of promises of God's goodness towards our goodness, right, in response to our virtue and our caring. The just man is a light in darkness to the upright. Light shines through the darkness for the upright. He is gracious and merciful and just. Well for the man who is gracious and lens, who conducts his affairs with justice. He shall never be moved. The just one shall be in everlasting remembrance, an evil report he shall not fear. His heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. An evil report he shall not fear, even though he will get an evil report. Why, because goodness, even if we're not doing it, Lord, to like show off or to satisfy your ego, even if we're trying to be, you know, the humble do and disappear, do things with rectitude of attention. Well, if we're good, we're gonna get, we're gonna catch flag. That's just the way. It's just everywhere. It's in Plato, Aristotle, fools. Um it's the gospel. An evil report he shall not fear, even though there will be an evil report. His heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. His heart is steadfast, he shall not fear. Lavishly he gives to the poor, his justice shall endure forever, his horn shall be exalted in glory. The just man is a light in darkness to the upright. You are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world. Don't be afraid that people see your goodness. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden, nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel. It is set on a lampstand where it gives light to all in the house. Just so your light must shine before. For others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father. But Lord, we know without you we can do nothing. And so to pray about growing in charity, to pray about giving ourselves a bit of a hard time, to be sharper, and it's salt within ourselves. To pray about not being afraid, give a good example, what people are going to think. It all pushes us back to him, right? I am the light of the, I am the light of the world. Because you are the light of the world where we reflect that. And so we have to get all this from you. And where do we get it? Well, where we meet him most, um where we meet you, Lord, most intimately. Communion. The first place we receive our Lord to remind ourselves, Lord, of those words of yours, he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him. And so when we kind of like come up against, which is important, that we come up against our limits in charity, I just don't have the energy to do any more good. This person is impossible for me to whatever. And I don't know. I just can't stand these nacho chips that they buy every year for the Super Bowl, right? And I just I know it shouldn't bother me, but but it does, right? And um, well, Lord, you're this, you know, you're the savior. It's like help me more, change my heart, be love in me and through me. To overcome that laziness, to kind of just begin again. You know, Lent starts in 10 days. God bless us. Um to be up for that, self-denial, not to be afraid of silence, not to be afraid of missing things that we've come to count on too much. But all of that is um only made possible, Lord, because because of you, because we're because we're trying to rely on you, we need you. And that's our prayer, and that's our communion, and that's our other sacraments, confession. Letting Him heal us, letting Him do His work. You are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world, apostolate. Lord, you're counting on us to guide many others to you and ultimately to heaven. The Lord's missionary mandate is grounded in the eternal love of the Most Holy Trinity, we read in the catechism. The church on earth is by her nature missionary, since according to the plan of the Father, she has as her origin the mission of the Son and the Holy Spirit. The ultimate purpose of mission is none other than to make men share in the communion between the Father and the Son in their spirit of love. To make men share in the love of God, which they're made for. And thank God, Lord, there's so many apostolic fruits, there's so many apostolic people in the world right now. Thousands of people every year, and uh this year too, but thousands and thousands of people in this country are coming into the church in the Easter vigil. And how does that happen? Well, it happens because, well, the Holy Spirit's working, and people are in touch with our Lord, and they believe again in the Eucharist and confession and the gospel, and then they like care about people and they and they get people to come to things and they talk to them and they share the faith and they teach them and they catechize. It's our Lord, and it's and it's fervor, it's it's an apostolic heart. Lord, we want to be part of it, we want we are part of that, and we want to continue to be part of that. It's sharing the gospel, sharing the truth of the faith, sharing the spirit of the work, which is so Christian, so much part of the gospel. Reflected in the gospel, I should say. So that this is the ultimate meaning, right, of life, Lord, is to love you and to love others, and in loving others to help them to meet you and to love you. That's what we'll do forever in heaven together. And then to back up from there, it's like, okay, why do I work and why do I get out of bed? And why, you know, unity of life. It's like, okay, everything is for love of God, and therefore everything is also to spread the love of God. Everything is apostolic. Why this hour of work? Why this time of rest? Why anything? Love of God, love of souls. Holiness and apostolate. Lord, help us to get in on that, keep getting in on it, not to lose, right, to lose the thread, take our uh tight, take our eye off the proverbial ball. And since, you know, we can pray for anything that's licit, we'll ask our Lord that the Patriots win the Super Bowl tomorrow. I kind of don't think it's gonna happen. I had a bad dream about it last night. I'm not a prophet, but I had a dream that they lost. And they had this slogan that I really don't like. The Patriots say, We're all that we got, we're all that we need. That's been like a rallying cry, right? It's understandable because it's like everyone's like, oh, they're lucky, they had a bad, they had an easy schedule, they don't have any really great players, their offensive line stinks. And so their response is, hey, we're all that we have, and we're all that we need, right? This is the guys that we have, and it's enough. But I you know, I always read these things like over theologically, and I'm like, we're all that we have, we're all that we need. Oh, that's like the worst thing you could ever think. So, anyway, unless we unless Jesus is in that group, but um so maybe they're not praying for them. There, I'm sure they are a lot of good people there. Um we'll pray for them. And for much more important things, Lord, right? Peace in our world, understanding, justice, fairness, kindness, all these things we see are lacking in so many situations. Lord, have mercy, have mercy on this world of ours and help us to be part of the solution, the salt and the light that you expect us to be. Our Lady, Mother of the Church, pray for us. I thank you, my God, for the good resolutions, affections, and inspirations which you have communicated to me in this meditation. I ask your help to put them into effect. My Immaculate Mother, Saint Joseph, my father and Lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.